Desperate Times
by Poison Rose
Summary: Seven's been recruited by the Relativity crew- again; this time for a mission How will this latest secret impact on the new life she's been building for herself? AU from season 6 onwards... feedback is always welcome:
1. Chapter 1

Desperate Times

**Disclaimer: **Star Trek Voyager in no way belongs to me, and I am making no profit from this story.

**Summary: **Seven has a secret… a very big secret…

Reviews: As always, positive criticism is always welcome

**HHHHHHHH**

They would see.

She had to move quickly; security was only a few minutes away.

Silently, she berated herself, cursed this horrible situation she'd gotten herself into. And she HAD gotten herself into this mess, no matter how much her handler tried to convince her otherwise.

She could have chosen to walk away from it all from the beginning, of course.

It would have been so easy. After all, as her handler had stated, there were others on Voyager who would have done the task.

She felt a twinge of irrational anger.

Her shipmates had no idea of what was going on, right under their very noses.

Of course, they would have found out by now if it wasn't for her painstaking efforts to hide the truth from them.

She folded her arms, trying not to look impatient as she tried not to look at the unconscious man in front of her.

"Ducane to Seven of Nine. Report."

Seven sighed in relief.

"I apprehended him. Deck 12, section 7. Be quick."

She could hear the genuine regret in the man's voice. "Understood. Stand by."

She just wanted this to be over with; the strain of it was interfering with her efficiency. People were starting to notice. He was starting to notice.

"Tuvok to Seven of Nine."

Her heart skipped a beat. _No, not now, not when she was so close…_

"Go ahead Commander." Her voice was calm, cool, collected.

"There is chronoton flux emanating from your current location. Evacuate the area."

She forced herself to remain calm, not at all an easy task considering what she was about to do.

"My ocular implant can detect irregularities in space time. I have noticed nothing unusual."

"Irrelevant. Evacuate the area, Captain's orders."

Her attention was drawn to the man on the floor, who was regaining consciousness. Impossible.

Closing the channel, she hit her other combadge.

"Relativity, he's awake! Orders?"

"They've thrown up a force field. We can't beam him off."

Desperation clawed at Seven's insides.

She hadn't wanted it to come to this, but it had.

Walking briskly over to the wall panel, she injected her nanoprobes directly into the ship's systems, activating the security precautions she'd installed two months ago in the likely event of this exact situation.

The captain's voice over the Com system was hardly unexpected.

"Seven, stop what you're doing."

She sounded annoyed. Seven couldn't blame her.

"Computer, disable communications systems, priority omega."

The happy chirp of compliance stood out against the somber mood in the room.

The man was sitting up now, looking at her groggily.

His voice was raspy, but still recognizable.

"Mother?"

Seven ignored him, ignored the pang of guilt she felt on hearing that single word.

Guilt was irrelevant.

She hit the combadge once more. "Relativity, lock on your transporters."

"Understood, we've got a lock."

It was quite possibly the slowest transport she'd ever witnessed.

As she stood, fear eating at her insides, he spoke to her, and she could feel his confusion.

She stilled, knowing that this moment had been inevitable.

_Seven. Stop._

For a nanosecond, she considered not responding. Then

_I cannot. I'm… sorry._

And she was. More so than anyone would ever realise.

_Your course of action is illogical. You are endangering the safety of this ship and crew._

His thoughts were puzzled, she could tell.

Shaking her head sadly, she watched the beam out's completion.

"We have him. We'll be back to debrief you. Ducane out."

Seven sighed. "Understood."

She had been successful. The needs of the many had been served. Now, she had to 'face the music' as Lieutenant Paris was fond of saying.

**HHHHHHHHH**

I would really like for this to continue for another few chapters, but I can't promise regular updates… still, let me know what you think.:)


	2. Chapter 2

**Desperate Times**

**Disclaimer:** Star Trek Voyager doesn't belong to me.

**Note**: I've always found the interactions between Seven and Tuvok to be interesting, and so I thought… why not?

Reviews as always are welcome… thanks for the response already

**PPPPPPPPPPP**

Even after an hour, he could not achieve the proper meditative state, a fact which he found most disquieting.

Commander Tuvok rose from his cross legged posture on the floor and extinguished the flame, resigned to the fact that balance would continue to elude him, at least for the time being.

The recent peculiar instances on board the ship were ones most suited to his abilities as Chief Security officer, so therefore it was only logical that he head the investigation.

Unfortunately, he and the Captain differed in this opinion.

He remembered their conversation three hours ago.

_**LLLLLLLLLLLLLL**_

"_Has she said anything?"_

_The Captain's frustration was palpable as she paced the length of her ready room. Tuvok could certainly understand her position, he was frustrated himself, even though he suppressed it as always. _

_Even in this most trying circumstance._

_It was absolutely imperative that he not let emotion rule him at this time._

"_She has spoken, but Seven pointedly refuses to discuss anything related to the incident. She has asked me to convey her apologies to you personally for her actions."_

_He successfully managed to keep his tone level, something that seemed to be requiring a great deal of effort, to his dismay._

_The Captain sighed._

"_It doesn't make any sense, Tuvok. She was fine yesterday, she showed up at the morning briefing, she participated, she proposed a plan to help boost the long range sensors… she was in her element. Where did this come from?"_

_Recognising this as a hypothetical question, Tuvok nevertheless felt the need to respond._

"_I do not know."_

_The Captain's eyes were on him now, tender, compassionate. Inwardly, he steeled himself from what he knew was to follow._

"_What about you, Tuvok? Did she appear to be acting odd at all when you two saw each other this morning?"_

_He squashed the desire to point out that, had Seven been acting in a manner unusual to her normal behavior, he would have realised it out right away._

"_She was not displaying any unusual behavior."_

_The Captain sighed again, then her eyes turned serious. _

"_Tuvok… are you absolutely certain there's nothing else you want to tell me?"_

_Although the answer was 'no', Tuvok realized the answer to the question, while a personal one, might be of help._

"_She has been… distant for the past few days."_

_The Captain folded her arms, an ominous sign. _

_He continued before she could interrupt._

"_This in itself is not unusual. Our bond is newly formed, and we are both solitary individuals by nature. She has been… attempting to once again get used to the thoughts of another in her mind. It is not an easy thing for her, especially after her experiences with the collective. _

"_I try to 'give her her space', as you say. I find that it has helped her to feel a great deal more comfortable, to know that her thoughts can still continue to be her own." _

_The Captain had listened carefully, her face softening with each word he spoke._

_He was very uncomfortable, principally because Vulcans tended not to discuss intimate relationships with others; but the Captain was a friend._

_She was one of the very few people on board ship that he would tell of his personal life, and even then there was discomfort._

_Indeed, she now stood well away from him, a compassionate look on her face._

"_Is she still distant?"_

_Tuvok actually had to work to hide the flinch._

"_I cannot sense her thoughts or feelings at this time. It appears that she has erected a mental barrier. I... would not tear it down."_

_The last sentence had been barely above a whisper._

_The Captain seemed to come to a decision._

"_Tuvok, I'm sorry, but you know what I have to do. I can't allow you to work on this, not with your attachment to Seven."_

"_Captain…"_

"_Tuvok, I hate to use the words 'emotionally compromised' when it comes to you… but you know Starfleet protocol in cases like these. And no matter how much I trust your logic, you can't promise me that you'll behave like your normal self if I let you lead this investigation."_

_He did see the logic, even if admitting it was uncomfortable. _

"_Get some sleep, Commander. Report to my ready room tomorrow, 08.00 hours._

"_Two requests Captain, if I may."_

"_Yes?"_

"_I request that Lieutenant Ayala take over the investigation."_

"_Granted. And?"_

"_Let me talk to Seven. Unofficially. Ascertain how she… feels. She seems unwilling to co operate with pointed questions. You know how Seven reacts when she believes she is cornered."_

_A warning tone entered the Captain's voice._

"_Commander…"_

"_Please, Captain. There is something… deeply bothering her. She may not show it, but I can tell. She considers you a friend as well… perhaps if you accompany me, she may relent. _

"_I understand that I cannot lead this investigation… but I know Seven of Nine. I can be of assistance."_

_The Captain considered._

"_Request granted. Now go and get some sleep Commander, that's an order."_

_**LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL**_

As Tuvok pulled on his uniform in preparation to meet with the Captain, he could not help reaching out one more time to Seven in his mind.

Once again, he received no response.

Had he been human, he would have sighed.

He had gotten a mere 2.5 hours of sleep, which, while not optimal, was better than none.

"Computer, locate Seven of Nine."

"Seven of Nine is in the brig."

Of course she was still in the brig.

He had put her there with orders for her not to be moved until she cooperated. It had been the logical thing to do, but he… felt… uncomfortable.

Willing the feeling away, he left for his meeting with the Captain.

**PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP**


End file.
